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Question about recommended cut grade on diamond earrings

junhox212

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May 15, 2012
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I've been on a search for PS quality stones for my wife's earrings and came to talk to a jeweler who told me to relax on the cut when it comes to earrings. I then read this from a person who seems to be established in the industry:

"Since the average distance from which you view studs on someone’s ears is quite far, you can be more relaxed about the cut quality. Just stay away from extremes in terms of depth and table, and you will be fine. A Good GIA Cut grade will be fine as long as the stone isn’t too deep (and therefore you loose too much spread on the face of the diamonds).

Am I wasting time and money on diamonds that wont look too different once set on settings, hand touched, and looking from a few feet away?
 

PintoBean

Ideal_Rock
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I'm not sure what you are looking for here wrt earrings. I looked at your history of topics and it looks like you have many topics about earrings already. I suggest you take a step back and really cull through the information in those threads and try to make this a pragmatic as opposed to emotional purchase.
 

Garry H (Cut Nut)

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The best diamonds for earrings are slightly shallow GIA Ex and Very Good cut proportions.
for e.g. 33 crown and 40.6 pavilion with 58-60% table size as it is rare to be able to see much fire and brightness and +spread are what looks and work best.
 

WinkHPD

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junhox212|1473210547|4073925 said:
I've been on a search for PS quality stones for my wife's earrings and came to talk to a jeweler who told me to relax on the cut when it comes to earrings. I then read this from a person who seems to be established in the industry:

"Since the average distance from which you view studs on someone’s ears is quite far, you can be more relaxed about the cut quality. Just stay away from extremes in terms of depth and table, and you will be fine. A Good GIA Cut grade will be fine as long as the stone isn’t too deep (and therefore you loose too much spread on the face of the diamonds).

Am I wasting time and money on diamonds that wont look too different once set on settings, hand touched, and looking from a few feet away?

I am going to disagree with my friend Garry on this and say that yes, cutting still matters. In order to observe dispersion (fire or colored light) the ray of dispersed light must be larger than the pupil of the eye when it reaches the pupil of the eye. If it is not, all of the light from that ray enters the pupil and is discerned as white light or sparkle. Well cut diamonds have larger flashes of light and thus more visible dispersion as well as better sparkle. Since many earring diamonds are smaller than one carat, this has an important role in how those diamonds look. Well cut diamonds just look bigger than poorly cut diamonds due to how they handle the light that enters them.

I gave my wife a pair of fifty pointers of a branded diamond known for its top of the line cutting. She is still, more than a year later, getting constant comments about how beautiful her diamonds are. She herself is amazed at how big they look when she passes a mirror.

I know it is common for jewelers to tell you that it is okay to slack off on cut, color and clarity because after all, they are only earrings and no one is going to get close enough to see that they are only J or K color and I1 or I2 clarity and it is so much cheaper. It is a great way to get rid of some dogs, two at a time.

Personally, I suggest that you stick to your guns on cutting. Cut back on color and clarity, within limits, but stand your position when it comes to cutting. It can be seen, instantly when whatever light is available strikes those diamonds and bursts forth to be seen by the observer.

Wink
 

wildcat03

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Wink - I find it somewhat amusing that you sell super ideal diamonds for a living and your wife is (still) amazed at how sparkly they are. :) I guess she didn't marry you just for the diamonds, which is probably a very good thing for your marriage!
 

WinkHPD

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wildcat03|1473258850|4074067 said:
Wink - I find it somewhat amusing that you sell super ideal diamonds for a living and your wife is (still) amazed at how sparkly they are. :) I guess she didn't marry you just for the diamonds, which is probably a very good thing for your marriage!

LOL! You are right. When Resa married me I was a SSgt in the Marine Corps. We met in Brasil when I was "just" a SGT. One of her co workers advised her after learning of our engagement not to throw her life away on a Marine. "Sleep with him if you must, but you can do much better!"

We have been married now for 43 years and each one seems to be better than the one before. The lady who gave her the advice had already been divorced three times when she gave Resa the advice. Good thing for me that Resa heeds her own council more than that of the nay sayers!

Wink
 

ac117

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Wink|1473265645|4074096 said:
wildcat03|1473258850|4074067 said:
Wink - I find it somewhat amusing that you sell super ideal diamonds for a living and your wife is (still) amazed at how sparkly they are. :) I guess she didn't marry you just for the diamonds, which is probably a very good thing for your marriage!

LOL! You are right. When Resa married me I was a SSgt in the Marine Corps. We met in Brasil when I was "just" a SGT. One of her co workers advised her after learning of our engagement not to throw her life away on a Marine. "Sleep with him if you must, but you can do much better!"

We have been married now for 43 years and each one seems to be better than the one before. The lady who gave her the advice had already been divorced three times when she gave Resa the advice. Good thing for me that Resa heeds her own council more than that of the nay sayers!

Wink

Wink, I just want to stop and acknowledge how sweet this it! Bling is fun but not nearly as important as the sound foundation and happiness a relationship should have. I truly respect you and Resa for having this then and still having it now...and I aspire to the same!
 

diamondseeker2006

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My philosophy is similar to Wink's...one husband, many diamonds (not the other way around!).

I also have zero regrets on having superideal cut studs. I know if I want to make them side stones in a ring, they are nice enough quality to do that. I know if I ever need to sell them, it would not be difficult. They are bright and can be seen across a room. I wouldn't sacrifice cut on earrings, personally.
 

Rockdiamond

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Hi Junhox,
I also disagree about going to GIA "Good" cut grade- stick with VG, or EX.

Wink- Garry never said good cutting is not important- I am quite sure we all agree that quality of cut is crucial.
But we can't lump every non super ideal stone into the "badly cut" category=- and in fact many 60/60 stones ( and other "spready" combinations, as Garry suggested) have larger spread than a "super ideal" of the same weight.
I also contend that it's possible for the spreadier stone to look larger- even if it's the same diameter- I know you disagree with this- but I'm speaking from my own experience, with my own eyes.

I also agree that there's too many sellers who try to pawn off undesirable stones on unsuspecting consumers.
But again, that does not mean that every seller of non ideal stones is following such a deceptive course.

The point is- great cutting encompasses a range of proportions. It's truly a mistake to give people the impression that one set of proportions is hands down "better" than another set if both diamonds are very well cut.
This is a perfect example. DiamondSeeker has experience seeing different proportion sets and chooses to spend the money for super ideal.
Good for her!
But there's a fair number of observers who'll pick the spreadier stone.
This is both mine- and GIA's experience.
I know that you have a different experience Wink.
To be fair- we've sold and owned ( my wife and I) many incredible non ideal cut diamonds that were just as mesmerizing after years- if not more so- than when we first got them.
Super Ideals can be amazing. But it makes most sense for a shopper like Junhox to look at both super ideals and "regular" well cut diamonds to see what's right for her.
The idea that a super ideal is automatically better for each individual and in each application goes against viewing the stones with an open mind.
 

junhox212

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May 15, 2012
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Hi all, thank you everyone for your input and feedbacks i've gotten along the way, I don't think i would have ended up with the best stones for the money if it wasn't for pricescope members and information that it provides. After much search and questions about visual difference due to color grade difference and cut grade, i went down to LA jewelry district and picked out a store with great yelp reviews to ask to look at their stones. I was able to compare in person different color graded GIA stones from D all the way to K and the different cut grades. In the end, i wasnt able to see color difference between the stones under store light but i was able to see a difference in color between F and I when i saw the stones with my hand covering the stones to have them under a shade. All in all I felt very comfortable with I color stones, even a J. I did see some sparkle difference between some stones but for the most part I wasn't able to see much of a difference among the stones they had which were (very good cut grade to triple ex cut grade of GIA). I ended up with the following stones! (Finally). I paid $1600 total. Please let me knw what you think!

20160907_154416.jpg 20160907_154215.jpg 20160907_154404_0.jpg
 

Rockdiamond

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I think you did extremely well- and based on your experience looking, you made an informed choice.
That's really the goal IMO.

Congratulations and enjoy them!
 

junhox212

Rough_Rock
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May 15, 2012
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79
Thank you so much! =D
 
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